Monroe-Woodbury teachers' pact reflects state aid cut, tough times

CENTRAL VALLEY — Monroe-Woodbury teacher salaries will rise 5.5 percent over five years under an agreement the school board approved this month, according to district officials.

BY CHRIS MCKENNA

CENTRAL VALLEY — Monroe-Woodbury teacher salaries will rise 5.5 percent over five years under an agreement the school board approved this month, according to district officials.

The deal is the latest example of teachers getting relatively modest raises because of declining state aid — which has already cost school employees their jobs — and sensitivity to the tough economic climate.

Washingtonville, for instance, reached an agreement in June that retroactively raised salaries by 1.9 percent for the 2009-10 school year and increased them by 1.85 percent this year. A three-year deal with Pine Bush teachers that same month gave annual raises of less than 1 percent, 1.75 percent and 2 percent.

Figures for all three districts exclude the "step" increases teachers get each year until they reach the top of their pay scales.

To contain costs, Monroe-Woodbury stretched its pay scale so teachers must work 19 years instead of 14 to achieve their top salaries. They used to get huge increases when they reached the 14th and final rung; those leaps have now been broken up into six smaller steps.

"We need to rethink how we do things, and the teachers' negotiating team understood that," said Michael DiGeronimo, the school board president.

Union members voted 594-6 to approve the contract, which covers about 580 teachers and 100 teaching assistants.

"Both sides had to be creative," said Ray Hodges, president of the Monroe-Woodbury Teachers Association. "Membership understands the climate we're in."

With the new terms, salaries for Monroe-Woodbury teachers with a master's degree and no additional education credits range this year from $53,316 for a rookie to $98,110 for someone with 18 or more years of service. Teachers who have continued their education earn more.

According to the administration, the raises amounted to 0.45 percent for this year; 1.95 percent for 2011-12; 1.91 percent for 2012-13; 0.42 percent for 2013-14; and 0.73 percent for 2014-15.

The new contract also requires teachers to pay more for their health coverage. For individual plans, teachers must kick in an additional $74 this year and $55 more each of the next four years. Family policies will cost $104 more this year and an additional $110 each of the following four years.